NCAA Women
November 10, 2024
Wisconsin reinserted itself into the Big Ten race, not only dealing Penn State its first conference loss, but acing the “eye test.”
In front of a boisterous capacity crowd of 7,229 at Wisconsin Field House and a national television audience on NBC, the No. 7 Badgers (18-5, 12-2 Big Ten) could not have looked more dominant in blowing out the No. 3 Nittany Lions (23-2, 13-1) 25-23, 25-12, 25-13 on Saturday afternoon.
The statistical disparity was startling. Wisconsin recorded 19 blocks to zero for Penn State. The Badgers hit an eye-popping .465 (with two errors) to the Nittany Lions’ .117 (with 22 miscues).
Their performance while knocking off one of the two Big Ten unbeatens (Nebraska is the other) was a 180-degree turn from the Badgers’ stinging three-set loss in Madison last weekend to their red-hot rivals, the Cornhuskers.
Asked during the postmatch TV interview what he learned about his team from this match, Wisconsin Coach Kelly Sheffield quipped, “We need to play on NBC more often.”
In other highlights in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball on Saturday, Nebraska kept its Big Ten “0” intact by cruising past Washington, Oregon swept Minnesota in a match of ranked Big Ten teams and Stanford mauled Georgia Tech in a significant ACC tussle. Also, South Dakota State hopped back on the winning track, and Dayton, Western Kentucky, Southeastern Louisiana, Northern Iowa and UT Arlington extended their lengthy streaks.
Reverse sweeps transpired: Host Merrimack turned the trick against Marist, Oregon State won the last three sets at San Francisco and visiting William & Mary did the same to Elon.
A five-set comeback victory by Lamar over McNeese, rallying from two sets down, helped produce the stat lines of the night: Lamar’s Maja Malinowska, a freshman from Poland, racked up 20 kills, two aces, 12 digs and two solo blocks, mitigating 29 kills, 21 digs and an ace by McNeese senior McKenzie Moore.
Also in this edition of Volleyball Today is a report on the AVP League semifinals.
NCAA volleyball Sunday
Fifth-ranked Creighton, 22-2, 13-0 in the Big East and on a 15-match winning streak, goes to second-place Marquette (18-6, 12-1) in one of the fiercest rivalries in the sport. The 3 p.m. Eastern first serve can be seen on FS1.
The SEC slate includes Texas A&M at Tennessee at 1 p.m….
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